Kauto must wait for King George history bid

KAUTO STAR’S bid to land a record fifth successive William Hill King George VI Chase has been put on ice.

Paul Nicholls’ brilliant chaser will have to wait until Kempton’s next jumps meeting on Saturday, January 15 to go one better than Desert Orchid, who won the Boxing Day feature four times (1986, 1988-90).

The relevant parties acted to quickly to save the King George and the Christmas Hurdle after both days of the festive fixture fell foul of the big freeze.